Key Issues > Hardrock Mining on Federal Lands
environment icon, source: Art Explosion

Hardrock Mining on Federal Lands

Thousands of mining operators have extracted billions of dollars worth of hardrock mineral from land now managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) without being required to pay a federal royalty. In addition, some operators have abandoned hardrock mining sites and did not reclaim BLM land disturbed by their exploration, mining, and mineral processing operations.

  1. Share with Facebook 
  2. Share with Twitter 
  3. Share with LinkedIn 
  4. Share with mail 

The General Mining Act of 1872 helped open the West by allowing individuals to obtain exclusive rights to mine billions of dollars worth of hardrock minerals, including gold, silver, copper, uranium, and other valuable mineral deposits on land belonging to the United States without having to pay a federal royalty. Additional revenues could be generated by amending the General Mining Act of 1872 so that the federal government could collect federal royalties on minerals extracted from federal lands.

Regarding mine reclamation, BLM issued regulations effective in 1981 requiring all operators of hardrock mines to reclaim the land disturbed by mining when operations cease. BLM amended the regulations in 2001 to require all mining operations to provide bonds or other financial assurances before beginning exploration or mining operations on BLM land. Prior to these regulatory changes, some operators left BLM with many thousands of acres of unreclaimed land, some of which posed environmental and health and safety risks. Having adequate financial assurances to pay reclamation costs for BLM land disturbed by hardrock operations is critical to ensuring that the land is reclaimed if the mining operators fail to do so.

Figure 1: Examples of Cleanup Activities That Could Take Place at Abandoned Uranium Mine Sites

Examples of Cleanup Activities, Figure 3, GAO-12-544

Note: This figure is illustrative and does not include all possible activities that may take place based on site-specific conditions.

Looking for our recommendations? Click on any report to find each associated recommendation and its current implementation status.

Uranium Mining

Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Financial Assurances
GAO-12-544, May 17, 2012

Phosphate Mining

Oversight Has Strengthened, but Financial Assurances and Coordination Still Need Improvement
GAO-12-505, May 4, 2012

Hardrock Mining

BLM Needs to Revise Its Systems for Assessing the Adequacy of Financial Assurances
GAO-12-189R, Dec 12, 2011

Department of the Interior

Major Management Challenges
GAO-11-424T, Mar 1, 2011

Hardrock Mining

Information on State Royalties and Trends in Mineral Imports and Exports
GAO-08-849R, Jul 21, 2008

More Reports

Hazardous Waste Cleanup

Observations on States' Role, Liabilities at DOD and Hardrock Mining Sites, and Litigation Issues
GAO-13-633T, May 22, 2013

Mine Safety

Reports and Key Studies Support the Scientific Conclusions Underlying the Proposed Exposure Limit for Respirable Coal Mine Dust
GAO-12-832R, Aug 17, 2012

Abandoned Mines

Information on the Number of Hardrock Mines, Cost of Cleanup, and Value of Financial Assurances
GAO-11-834T, Jul 14, 2011

Surface Coal Mining

Information on Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit Reviews under Enhanced Coordination Procedures in Appalachia, Focusing on West Virginia
GAO-11-101R, Oct 19, 2010

Surface Coal Mining

Financial Assurances for, and Long-Term Oversight of, Mines with Valley Fills in Four Appalachian States
GAO-10-206, Jan 14, 2010

Surface Coal Mining

Characteristics of Mining in Mountainous Areas of Kentucky and West Virginia
GAO-10-21, Dec 9, 2009

Hardrock Mining

Information on State Royalties and the Number of Abandoned Mine Sites and Hazards
GAO-09-854T, Jul 14, 2009
There are no other materials currently linked to this content
  • portrait of Anne-Marie Fennell
    • Anne-Marie Fennell
    • Director, Natural Resources and Environment
    • fennella@gao.gov
    • 202-512-3841